The Killer Instinct

Once again, the brain is running in overdrive. My brain has been processing information non-stop for the last five hours. I am hoping that if I write any of this down, that I might be able to free up some room in the "attic".

I, not unlike the other six-odd billion primates on this planet, want to be successful. Some people get lucky breaks, while others are forced to slug it out in the trenches for many years before they can harvest the fruit of their efforts. I am one of those unlucky many that are currently slugging it out in the trenches. I have probably made some poor choices along the way, but the end result is that I am still fighting, and I have not conceded defeat in achieving everything I have ever desired.

Donald Trump said something that struck a chord in me during tonight's episode of the Apprentice. He said (and I paraphrase): "Don't ever quit; never give up". I think these are words that a successful person should live by. I also think that every successful person already knows that advice, so his motivational speech isn't all that groundbreaking. Nonetheless, I still respect "The Donald", for he is far more successful than I.

Even before tonight's broadcast of the Apprentice, I was seriously considering the issues of wealth, of hard work, of power, success, as well as a few of the other related issues I have recently mentioned in this blog. Am I the only one who thinks that the rich have got it easy? What I mean by this question is that the wealthy seem to have an easier time acquiring and maintaining their wealth than the rest of us. I began to ask myself why, for I believe the answers are the key to true success.

The first key personality trait that a person requires to be successful is the fire; the "killer instinct" some call it. Others call it drive, desire, or commitment to their profession. You have to believe in yourself, your goals, and stop at nothing in order to accomplish your achievements. This is exactly what Donald Trump had said in tonight's broadcast, but there is a lot more than meets the eye. Most people forget to read the fine print. This often means sacrifice on many levels.

If you want to be successful, the focus of all your energies is integral. You should be prepared to go without sleep or food so you can accomplish your tasks, and meet important deadlines. I sleep very little these days, and when I do sleep, I am usually half-awake, thinking about what needs to be done in the next day or two. There are countless University graduates who think they will be successful solely because they have a post-secondary education; that they deserve the 9-to-5 job. Sadly, a 9-to-5 job does not guarantee success. CEO's of many corporations spend more than 40 hours per week at their job. In fact, their career is also their livelihood. From my vantage point, the success of a corporation is often determined by the success of the CEO.

Diversity is also key to those who are successful. The cliché holds true: never put all your eggs in one basket. Every successful entrepreneur I know has their money, time, and interests divided among many different endeavors. I am no different. I have my day job that I work 8 to 5 every day. I am also self-employed, where I work up to six evenings per week. I gig on weekends not just because it is fun, but also because it is a form of income. I have also been considering the possibilities how I could further diversify myself. If you read this blog regularly, you already have an idea on what I would like to expand my interests in.

What was in the forefront of my mind the whole evening, is what it is, exactly, that separates the very rich from the rest of us. After some deliberation, the answer became clear:

The very rich make money even while sitting on the pot.

In other words, they are still getting richer while doing nothing!

The rest of us aren't so lucky. If we are sick, we lose money. If we take a day off, we lose a day's wages. Our time is valuable because it is our labor that ultimately pays the bills. The successful do not have to resort solely to this form of income.

The reason became clear when I considered the diversity of their interests. The rich not only make money by working, they also make money due to investments. They have savings in the bank, they hold stocks, and bonds (a rich man's way of gambling), they also own art and property; two things that appreciate in value. This is often called residual income, and it has the potential to make someone very, very rich. The catch is that you often need assets before you can generate income by passing the time.

This is also the first mistake that most of us make. Loans and credit are very dangerous because they work against the investor. Studies in sociology as well as human geography have demonstrated that most of us live as much as 30% beyond our financial means. We are constantly borrowing money in order to pay for items that we want, but do not necessarily need. "Payday loans" and credit cards are generally the worst. You miss one payment, and the interest you are charged is astronomical. You end up paying so much for these items, that the investment won't even be worthwhile. Here's a word of advice; never buy technology or anything with a high depreciative value on credit. You will never get any return on your investment. There as so many big-box realtors that off you "no money down, no interest for 12 months", that countless people are duped into thinking that they can buy nice stuff (and usually buy articles way beyond their means) and still think that they are getting a great deal. The only deal you will ever get is by paying in cash instead of credit.

Entrepreneurs also know about cloning.

When I say cloning, I of course do not mean it in the literal sense. Any small business owner will tell you that there comes a point where he has to delegate certain tasks to a subordinate(s). In this way, you can hire people who are trained and/or qualified in certain key areas, so the business owner can solely focus on the expansion of his or her business. This means that the hiring of laborers for grunt work (if the business requires hard labor), secretarial or office staff, accountants, even engineers and lawyers can become worthy assets of any company. This premise is integral to success of any business, but it is also the key (and breaking point) of countless get-rich-quick schemes.

My rule of thumb is build everything yourself, and then you don't have to pay-out to anybody who sits above you.

As I mentioned earlier, success and financial stability is solidified by the entrepreneur's assets -- especially when it comes to real estate. Now rich people make and lose money overnight while playing the stock market, and I am of the opinion that playing with stocks is about as safe as playing with explosives. Real estate, in most cases is an investment that will almost guarantee you a return. Only in rare occasions will you ever see a property devalue.

Select members of my family lineage have made themselves successful because of their investments in Real Estate. The building I work in is owned by a local entrepreneur who owns a while pile of local Real Estate. Countless others have made a comfortable living by owning rental properties. And generally speaking, when you own property, you see a monthly return on your investment.

You own enough properties, you can sell them all off when you decide to retire and live comfortably for a very long time.

Is There No Legitimate Way of Making Easy Money?

I, like almost everyone out there, have the occasional feeling that they do not earn enough money. Almost everyone I know slaves for 40-plus hours a week and make salaries in every tax bracket. Many of my friends have budgetary problems, and spend more than they earn. This appears to me as a common staple of the North-American family. Look no further than your television to see ads for corporations offering their products with no money down; or no payments for six months, plus all the payday loans, and credit card companies offering you credit at the cost of an arm and a leg. We are a commodity-based society, as I mentioned in my last post, where happiness is measured in the number of toys you have when you die.

I try my best to keep my spending under control. I am at a point in my life where I am trying to become self-supporting. Every month I make more than I can spend (though some months are close to break-even). I manage to put away some money in the bank every month, which would mean that I am doing better than many North-American citizens. There is the problem that I feel like I may not be making enough in the future. What happens when I have a mortgage? What will happen when I have children, and not only will I have to support them, but provide a post-secondary education to them? It will certainly not happen with the income I have today.

Then there is the aspect of emergencies. Many people barely make enough to survive from one paycheck to the next. What would happen if their vehicle broke down, and they could not afford to repair it, or purchase another vehicle? Obviously, many of us would agree that an operational vehicle is necessary for them to get to their workplace. If I did not have a vehicle, I would soon end up unemployed. Then, there are medical emergencies. I work in a small company, where I am not lucky to get medical or dental coverage. If I were to get ill, or require a great deal of dental work, I would end up spending all my nestegg due to my medical expenses. This is certainly not a way to live, but I expect a large percentage of us live in this manner, ignorant of the fact that if disaster struck, they would all be up the creek.

So I had been looking for a way that I might be able to earn 500-1000 dollars per month without too much investment of my time or money. You may or may not know that I am a small-business owner, in addition to my full-time job. When I say "small-business", I mean exactly that. My small business equates to about 20% of my gross income. I have a bit of that entrepreneurial spirit, and would love to improve my financial situation by expanding my business interests.

To increase one's income, you have a few options. Switch careers for a higher salary, take on a second (or third) job, go back to school and receive training in a field that pays more (delayed investment), or if you are a business owner, find new ways to market your company, cut expenditures, and increase profits. I must not forget to mention, that there is the stock market, mutual funds, and other forms of risky investment, that might reap you excessive profits, or might leave you entirely broke.

I decided to do a little web-hunting and did a web-search for "easy money". I should have been a little smarter than that. Thousands of web pages were registered, most of them scams, and the sites that weren't scams were informational websites dedicated to exposing and preventing fraudulent activity. The old cliché holds true: If a money-making proposition seems too good to be true, it probably is. I finished my web searching more discouraged than enlightened.

I am left with few options. Undertaking another job is unrealistic, since those who know me, already know that I am strung out. I have worked 50-plus hours a week for the last three years, and I don't know how much longer I can hold out. I still have 30 or 35 years to go before I retire, and when I do, I can be assured that there will be no money left in the pension fund for me, or anyone else for that matter.

Another option would be to invest my money. Obviously, no one has been able to make any money in interest in their bank account for at least twenty years. Even back then, you would have to have a substantial amount in the bank in order to live off the interest. I suppose I could invest in the stock market or in mutual funds, but like I said earlier, you should be prepared to throw away that money. I only have enough money saved that I could consider investing in penny-stocks, which are even higher-risk anyway.

Investing in real estate is one of the smartest moves anyone can make. Given the circumstances of my life at this time, it is not possible for me to invest in property or real estate, since I don't know if I will remain in this city for any substantial amount of time to make money off any property investment. Generally, any property should appreciate in value once you sell it. This is not always the case, but I don't plan on going into details here.

The only thing I can do is either invest more time into my business, or change careers. Changing careers, of course is a risk. You may end up getting a job you hate even more than the one you have. You may end up being fired for little reason within the first three months, and given no severance.

As for my business, I may increase my rates, or increase my clientele. Both are treacherous terrains. I may lose clients on the basis that may prices are no longer competitive, conversely, I lose precious free time if I increase my clientele. Like I have already stated in this log, I am already strung-out, and I don't get enough sleep.

Such is the life for most of us. We would all love to have the freedom of making a ton of money, and being able to retire early, afford luxurious vacations, and have a standard of living that's a cut above the rest. Does such a thing exist? Yes. Is it easily attainable? No.